I always look forward to the start of the Olympic Games, although I will readily confess that I am not much of an athlete myself. I still can appreciate the strength, dedication and power of those who compete in the broad spectrum of events that comprise the modern Games; I get caught up in the personal stories of the individuals (and their families) who have devoted so much of their lives to their sport; and, as a former theater major, I really enjoy the spectacle of those opening ceremonies.

I’m old enough to easily remember when the Games — both Summer and Winter — were held in the same year, and one had to wait four years for the next extravaganza. Now one only has to wait two years to see what the host country will do to try to outdazzle previous performances. Based on the commentaries leading up to the opening of the London Games, the benchmark clearly was set by China’s Beijing Olympics (nary a word of the more recent Vancouver Winter Olympics), and anyone who viewed that amazing show knows why.

With all of the hype and anticipation of what Danny Boyle might present last night, you’d think I’d be right there, glued to my set for the entire nearly four-hour performance. Instead, we had a group of friends visiting and spent the majority of the beautiful evening sipping wine, eating and conversing outside, mostly oblivious to the muted television screen indoors. When I did step inside occasionally, my visits seemed timed with a series of very long commercial breaks, so I didn’t really see anything of the show until after our guests left around 10:30 p.m. By then they were deep into the parade of nations (“S,” I believe), but I did get to see two portions of the program which I felt beautifully evoked the spirit of the Games.

The first came with the lovely symbolism behind the lighting of the Olympic flame. Instead of a well-known British athlete, seven young athletes, representing the future, carried the fire of the final torch to light the flame, made up of more than 200 copper petals, one for each of the countries participating in the Games (we’d been trying to figure out what those things were being carried in next to the flag of each country during the parade of nations!). If only such unity could be truly present between the countries of the world outside of this idyllic realm!

The second came when the entire stadium — audience and athletes alike — joined Sir Paul McCartney in singing “Hey Jude.” What a joyous, uplifting sound! Just as with sport, music is one of those rare elements that can draw people together no matter their history, culture or background. You can be sure that whether someone in that crowd was from the U.K. or Uganda, Brazil or Bhutan, he knew the words and tune of that song, and sang out heartily. What a great way for the 2012 London Summer Olympics to begin!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor